Buffalo Metro Crime Watch: Burglaries and Car Thefts, Week of June 29 – July 5, 2026
Another week, another stack of blotter pages from the New York State Police. We read all of them so you do not have to, then we pull out the cases that matter to anyone who owns a home, a car, or a storefront in the Buffalo Metro. This week the pattern was hard to miss: quiet larcenies from open buildings and unlocked vehicles in Lockport and Clarence, a stolen car in Lewiston that ended with three teenagers in front of a Family Court judge, and a burglar caught with his tools before sunrise. Troopers logged roughly 500 incidents across our coverage area between Monday, June 29 and Sunday, July 5, and 30 of them were burglar-alarm calls alone.
A quick and important note before we start. Everyone named below has only been charged, and a charge is an accusation, not a conviction. Every person mentioned in this report is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law. We name adults only when the State Police released their names in an arrest record, we never name juveniles, and we link the official report for every case so you can read the source yourself.
This Week at a Glance
Every case cited in this article, in the order it was reported. “Open” means the investigation was still active when the report was filed; “Closed” means the trooper marked it closed or cleared; “Arrest” means someone was charged. Remember that any charge is only an accusation.
| Date & time | Town | What happened | Status | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon Jun 29, 3:35 a.m. | Lockport (T) | Burglar-tools & criminal-mischief arrest | Arrest | |
| Mon Jun 29, 9:20 a.m. | Dunkirk (T) — Chautauqua | Stolen-vehicle arrest (unauthorized use) | Arrest | |
| Mon Jun 29, 9:48 a.m. | Clarence (T) | Fraud report | Closed | |
| Mon Jun 29, 2:08 p.m. | Grand Island (T) | Vehicle reported stolen | Closed | |
| Mon Jun 29, 2:12 p.m. | Albion (T) | Petit-larceny arrest (2 counts) | Arrest | |
| Mon Jun 29, 3:54 p.m. | Lockport (T) | Lost / stolen license plate | Open | |
| Mon Jun 29, 5:00 p.m. | Lockport (T) | Larceny from a building | Closed | |
| Mon Jun 29, 5:28 p.m. | Hamburg (T) | Fraud report | Open | |
| Mon Jun 29, 11:49 p.m. | Akron (V) | Theft from a vehicle | Open | |
| Tue Jun 30, 12:40 a.m. | Lewiston (T) | Stolen car — 3 juveniles charged | Arrest | |
| Tue Jun 30, 12:40 a.m. | Lockport (T) | Vehicle reported stolen | Open | |
| Tue Jun 30, 8:18 a.m. | Lyndonville (V) | Theft from a vehicle | Open | |
| Tue Jun 30, 2:57 p.m. | Clarence (T) | Larceny (other) | Closed | |
| Tue Jun 30, 4:26 p.m. | Pendleton (T) | Fraud report | Open | |
| Wed Jul 1, 12:30 p.m. | Elma (T) | Larceny (other) | Open | |
| Wed Jul 1, 12:32 p.m. | Boston (T) | Fraud report | Closed | |
| Wed Jul 1, 4:33 p.m. | Royalton (T) | Lost / stolen license plate | Open | |
| Wed Jul 1, 5:21 p.m. | Somerset (T) | Larceny from a building | Open | |
| Thu Jul 2, 8:51 a.m. | Lockport (T) | Larceny from a building — 3rd-degree burglary charge | Open | |
| Thu Jul 2, 10:27 a.m. | Clarence (T) | Identity-theft fraud | Closed | |
| Thu Jul 2, 12:49 p.m. | Newstead (T) | Lost / stolen license plate | Closed | |
| Fri Jul 3, 8:33 a.m. | Clarence (T) | Vehicle reported stolen | Open | |
| Fri Jul 3, 6:09 p.m. | Lockport (T) | Larceny-from-a-building arrest | Arrest | |
| Sat Jul 4, 4:36 p.m. | Murray (T) | Criminal-mischief arrest | Arrest |
“(T)” is a town, “(V)” a village. Times are when the incident was reported to the State Police, not necessarily when it happened.
Burglaries and Break-Ins
Start with the case that best explains why we harp on locks. Just before 4 a.m. on Monday, June 29, troopers working the Town of Lockport stopped a man they say was moving through the dark with the wrong kind of kit. Daniel J. Johnson, 36, of Buffalo was charged with criminal mischief and, tellingly, criminal possession of burglar’s tools, a Class A misdemeanor. He was released on an appearance ticket by 5:27 a.m. “Possession of burglar’s tools” is exactly what it sounds like — the pry bars, picks, and shims people carry when they intend to get into something that is not theirs. A good lock is what turns those tools into wasted weight.
Source: NYSP Troop A report, June 29, 2026 (archived PDF) — Incident NY2600808339
Two days later the theme repeated with a felony attached. On Thursday, July 2 at 8:51 a.m., a larceny from a building in the Town of Lockport led troopers to charge Jessica L. Werder, 35, of Lockport with petit larceny and third-degree burglary — a Class D felony that, in plain terms, means entering a building unlawfully with the intent to commit a crime inside. That case was still open as of the filing.
Source: NYSP Troop A report, July 2, 2026 (archived PDF) — Incident NY2600822336
The other break-ins were quieter but worth your attention. On Friday, July 3 at 6:09 p.m., troopers arrested Jasmine Lynnea Joseph, 32, of Lockport on a petit-larceny charge tied to a larceny from a building, releasing her on an appearance ticket. Two more larcenies from buildings were logged with no arrest: one in the Town of Somerset on Wednesday, July 1 that remained open, and one in the Town of Lockport handled out of the Niagara station on June 29 that troopers marked closed.
Source: NYSP Troop A report, July 3, 2026 (archived PDF) — Incident NY2600829618
Source: NYSP Troop A report, July 1, 2026 (archived PDF) — Incident NY2600820229
Source: NYSP Troop A report, June 29, 2026 (archived PDF) — Incident NY2600812019
Where the burglar alarms rang
Thirty burglar-alarm calls came in from our area this week. Most are false alarms — a pet, a loose door, a bumped keypad — but the map of where they cluster tells you where systems are actually installed and where they are being tripped. Clarence led with eight, followed by four in Alden and four in Lockport. Royalton, Newstead, and Batavia each had two, and single calls came from Alabama, Albion, Stafford, Wales, Gaines, Pembroke, Niagara, and Youngstown. Friday, July 3 was the loudest day by far, with nine alarm calls in a single 24-hour stretch — four in Clarence, two in Alden, two in Newstead, and one in Alabama. An alarm is only as useful as the lock behind it; the siren buys you time, but a solid deadbolt is what makes that time count.
Aggregate alarm and incident counts in this article come from the State Police public blotter linked at the end.
Car Thefts and Vehicle Break-Ins
The headline vehicle case of the week came out of the Town of Lewiston. At 12:40 a.m. on Tuesday, June 30, troopers recovered a stolen car and, by 2 a.m., had charged three 17-year-olds — one from Lockport and two from Batavia — each with criminal possession of stolen property in the fourth degree, a Class E felony that specifically covers a stolen motor vehicle. Because all three are juveniles, the State Police redacted their names and routed them to Family Court on appearance tickets, and we do not name them here. Three teenagers, one stolen car, and a 2 a.m. arrest is the kind of case that starts with a key left in a cupholder.
Source: NYSP Troop A report, June 30, 2026 (archived PDF) — Incident NY2600812823
Two more vehicles were simply reported gone. A car was taken in the Town of Lockport, reported the same early morning as the Lewiston case and still open at filing, and another was reported stolen in the Town of Clarence on Friday, July 3. A fourth vehicle theft in the Town of Grand Island, handled out of the Clarence station on June 29, was marked closed.
Source: NYSP Troop A report, June 30, 2026 (archived PDF) — Incident NY2600816885
Source: NYSP Troop A report, July 3, 2026 (archived PDF) — Incident NY2600826965
Source: NYSP Troop A report, June 29, 2026 (archived PDF) — Incident NY2600810507
Thieves who do not take the whole car often settle for what is inside it. Troopers logged a theft from a vehicle in the Village of Akron late Monday night, June 29, and another in the Village of Lyndonville on Tuesday morning, June 30 — both still open. Three separate reports of lost or stolen license plates rounded out the week, in the Town of Lockport (June 29), the Town of Royalton (July 1), and the Town of Newstead (July 2). A missing plate sounds minor until it turns up on another car during a crime.
Source: NYSP Troop A report, June 29, 2026 (archived PDF) — Incident NY2600812833
Source: NYSP Troop A report, June 30, 2026 (archived PDF) — Incident NY2600813583
Source: NYSP Troop A report, June 29, 2026 (archived PDF) — Incident NY2600811089
Source: NYSP Troop A report, July 1, 2026 (archived PDF) — Incident NY2600820204
Source: NYSP Troop A report, July 2, 2026 (archived PDF) — Incident NY2600823537
Commercial Crime Watch
Fraud was the steady drumbeat for local businesses and households this week, with five reports across the area. Two came out of Clarence, including an identity-theft case on July 2 that troopers closed, and one each landed in the Towns of Hamburg, Boston, and Pendleton. The Boston and both Clarence reports were marked closed or cleared; the Hamburg and Pendleton cases remained under investigation. Fraud rarely leaves a broken lock behind, but for a small business it is a reminder that access — who can get into your point-of-sale system, your back office, your records — is a security question too.
Source: NYSP Troop A report, July 2, 2026 (archived PDF) — Incident NY2600822809
Source: NYSP Troop A report, June 29, 2026 (archived PDF) — Incident NY2600811581
Source: NYSP Troop A report, June 30, 2026 (archived PDF) — Incident NY2600815702
Source: NYSP Troop A report, July 1, 2026 (archived PDF) — Incident NY2600819482
Source: NYSP Troop A report, June 29, 2026 (archived PDF) — Incident NY2600809220
Two larceny arrests are worth noting. In the Town of Albion on June 29, troopers charged Kaitlyn M. Blount, 35, of Albion with two counts of petit larceny, releasing her on an appearance ticket. And on Saturday, July 4, a criminal-mischief complaint in the Town of Murray led troopers to charge David Clement Quarantello, 70, of Holley with criminal mischief with intent to damage property, a Class A misdemeanor; he was arraigned the next morning on an appearance ticket. Two more “other” larcenies were logged without arrests, in the Town of Elma on July 1 (open) and the Town of Clarence on June 30 (closed).
Source: NYSP Troop A report, June 29, 2026 (archived PDF) — Incident NY2600810594
Source: NYSP Troop A report, July 4, 2026 (archived PDF) — Incident NY2600833060
Source: NYSP Troop A report, July 1, 2026 (archived PDF) — Incident NY2600823187
Source: NYSP Troop A report, June 30, 2026 (archived PDF) — Incident NY2600815244
Beyond the named cases, troopers ran 17 property checks and fielded 22 suspicious-activity calls across our area this week — the routine, unglamorous work of a patrol that keeps an eye on closed businesses and empty driveways.
Beyond the Metro
One case just outside our core coverage area is worth a mention because it fits the week’s vehicle theme. On June 29 at 9:20 a.m., State Police out of the Fredonia station in Chautauqua County charged Dillon M. Smith, 24, of Dunkirk with felony criminal possession of stolen property involving a motor vehicle, along with petit larceny and reckless criminal mischief causing more than $250 in damage, after a report of the unauthorized use of a vehicle. He was taken for central arraignment.
Source: NYSP Troop A report, June 29, 2026 (archived PDF) — Incident NY2600809374
The Week by the Numbers
| Category | In-area count, Jun 29 – Jul 5 |
|---|---|
| Burglar-alarm calls | 30 |
| Larcenies from a building | 4 |
| Vehicles reported stolen | 4 |
| Thefts from a vehicle | 2 |
| Lost / stolen license plates | 3 |
| Other larcenies | 3 |
| Fraud (including identity theft) | 5 |
| Criminal-mischief complaints | 2 |
| Property checks | 17 |
| Suspicious-activity calls | 22 |
| Total State Police incidents, all types | ~500 |
These counts reflect New York State Police Troop A activity only. City departments — including Buffalo, Niagara Falls, and the City of Lockport — keep their own blotters and report separately, so the true metro-wide totals are higher.
What This Week’s Cases Mean for Your Locks
“Look at how these cases actually happened. A stolen car in Lewiston with three kids arrested at two in the morning, a burglar in Lockport stopped with his tools before dawn, plates going missing off cars in three different towns. None of that needs a master criminal — it needs an unlocked door, a key left in a cupholder, or a lock that has not been rekeyed since the last tenant moved out. The fix is almost always cheaper than the loss.” — Simon Goodman, owner, Defense Locksmith LLC
Here is how to turn this week’s blotter into a to-do list for your home and vehicle:
- Rekey after any change of hands. New house, new tenant, lost key, or a break-in like the Lockport cases above — rekeying your locks means the old key stops working, without paying for all-new hardware.
- Put a real deadbolt behind the alarm. Thirty alarm calls this week is a lot of sirens; a grade-1 deadbolt is what actually holds the door while that siren does its job. Our residential locksmith team can tell you in five minutes whether your current deadbolt is worth keeping.
- Never leave a key in the vehicle. The teens in the Lewiston case were charged with a stolen car; most vehicles that vanish were unlocked or had a key inside. If your only key is lost or worn, get a replacement car key cut and programmed before you are stranded.
- Lock the car every single time, even at home. Both thefts-from-a-vehicle this week were crimes of opportunity in quiet villages. Our automotive locksmith services cover keys, fobs, and ignition problems across the metro.
- Landlords, control your keys. If you rent out property, a master-key system lets you rekey a single unit between tenants without touching the rest of the building.
- Know who to call at 3 a.m. Break-ins and lockouts do not keep business hours. Program our emergency locksmith line now, or just save the number: (716) 803-2934.
For business owners
- Rekey and control access with a master-key system installation so you know exactly who can open what.
- Harden the whole storefront with a commercial locksmith who works on business-grade hardware.
- Fix the weak points at the entrance with storefront door repair.
- See and log every entry with modern access control.
- Stay code-compliant and safe with proper push-bar installation.
- Keep back doors and loading entries solid with commercial door repair.
We’ll keep reading the blotters so you don’t have to. Stay locked, Buffalo.
Sources: New York State Police Troop A public information reports (blotters), covering June 29 – July 5, 2026, published at publicapps.troopers.ny.gov/Media_Reports/; the archived per-incident excerpts linked above are drawn directly from those reports. All individuals named were charged only; a charge is an accusation, and every person is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.